Summit County’s center for recycling household hazardous waste opened for the season Tuesday.
The Household Hazardous Waste Recycling Center for certain paints, pesticides, insecticides and other toxic wastes will be open from 1 to 4 p.m. at 1201 Graham Road at state Route 8 in Stow.
The center will be closed Wednesday for the July 4 holiday, then will begin its usual Tuesday afternoon/Wednesday evening cycle July 10-11. Wednesday hours are 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. The facility will be open through Sept. 26.
There is no charge to Summit County residents for recycling household wastes.
“This new schedule will allow residents to recycle unwanted oil-based paints, solvents and other household chemicals while saving on operational expenses,” said Yolanda Walker, executive director of the Summit-Akron Solid Waste Management Authority.
For the first time, the center will not accept water-based latex paint.
Eliminating latex paint will provide a financial boost because it accounts for more than 40 percent of the waste that must be processed, Walker said.
In 2011, the authority collected 671,096 pounds of household hazardous waste at the center and the two regional collections. That included 290,798 pounds of latex paints.
In 2010, with a longer season, the authority collected 842,397 pounds of household wastes that included 386,786 pounds of latex paints.
There is an environmentally friendly way for residents to safely get rid of latex paints, and that makes it easier to drop that collection, Walker said. The water-based paint can be air-dried or solidified and then thrown away with regular household trash.
People can mix an absorbent material, such as corn cob-based Cobzorb, cat litter or shredded newspapers into leftover paint to solidify it.
The household waste is processed by Veolia Environmental Services, and nearly 90 percent is recycled or turned into fuel.
The Stow center was the first permanent center for household hazardous waste in Ohio when it opened in 1996. It no longer accepts computers, televisions, electronics, cell phones or toner cartridges because of the high cost of recycling those items.
The center does accept old tires from passenger cars and light trucks. Tires can be on or off the rim. There is a limit of 10 tires per visit. The fee is $1 per tire.
For information, call 330-374-0383 or go to www. saswma.org.
Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745 or bdowning@thebeaconjournal.com.
